Packaging machine



1962 LA VERN H. BARRETT 3,016,665

PACKAGING MACHINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 22, 1957 INVENTOR. L4 147 '17 641 4 /4Q.1 ATTOf/YD' 1962 LA VERN H. BARRETT 3,016,665

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PACKAGING MACHINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 Filed July 22, 1957 INVENTOR BY JM ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,016,665 PACKAGING MACHINE La Vern H. Barrett, Lyons, N.Y., assignor to Manett Enterprises, Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed July 22, 1957, Ser. No. 673,291 22 Claims. (Cl. 53-73) This invention relates to an automatic packaging machine, and more particularly to an assembly for handling products and packaging the same, of the character as outlined in my pending application entitled Feeder for Packaging Machines, Serial No. 651,373, (now US. Patent No. 2,890,784) filed April 8, 1957.

In my aforesaid application I have, inter alia, described and illustrated a feeder having particular value in providing a preliminary arrangement or orientation of elongated objects, specifically fish sticks, and I have indicated that it may form part of the means of feeding the said products alternatively to packaging machinery or to a station where this operation is manually performed, should it be found desirable.

Given a feeder in accordance with my said prior invention, or other feeding means for orienting the elongated objects, it is an objective of the present invention to utilize products thus preliminarily organized for automatically feeding the same in manually or automatically related means for feeding containers, whereby packages of said elongated objects may be furnished Without manual operations in the handling of said products.

Still more particularly, it is an object of my invention to provide a packaging assembly for handling fish sticks, among other products, to feed the same in columnar arrangement, in rows arranged substantially in dead heat, from which position they are moved in timed relationship to container feeding means whereby one or more layers of said rows of elongated objects may be filled into containers automatically, characterized by features assuring accuracy of filling, avoiding errors in the contents of the containers, arrangement of layers of said elongated products in overlying position or in edge-to-edge relationship, synchronization of the feed of boxes or containers with rows of said elongated objects or sticks, accurately to fill the containers or boxes, with. minimum clearance to maintain the objects against unnecessary abrasion in shipping, all carried out under conditions avoiding errors in filling with a predetermined quantity of such objects, thereby minimizing the need for inspection.

Still more particularly, it is an object of my invention to provide feeder means for packaging machines whereby high speed filling of containers may be achieved, with assurance that the containers are filled with a predetermined quantity of elongated objects or fish sticks, with automatic detection and control of errors in the quantity fed, and minimum abrasion, whereby human errors normally encountered in the packaging of food stuffs of the kind herein exemplified are overcome.

Still more particularly, it is an object of my invention to provide automatic means for packaging the frail and readily frangible food stuffs to maintain the maximum desirable appearance, and to assure hygienic conditions by eliminating human handling of such products.

Still more particularly, it is an object of my invention to provide a packaging assembly for the handling of relatively delicate food products, in which losses due to mishandling are reduced to the minimum.

Still more particularly, it is an object of my invention to provide packaging machinery whereby high economies are effected by automatically handling relatively delicate food products which heretofore were considered too frangible for automatic packaging machines, and thereby 3,016,665 Patented Jan. 16, 1962 ICC eliminating the need for manual coordination of packaging with feeder means, resulting in economies in labor costs.

Still further objects of my invention reside in novel means for aligning elongated objects in close end-to-end relationship, whereby close fitting into packaging containers may be effected, and a full quantity of the fish stick contents in a package assured.

To attain these objects and such further objects as may appear herein or be hereinafter pointed out, I make reference to the accompanying drawing forming a part hereof, in which- FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the left hand side of an assembly in accordance with my invention;

FIGURE 2 is a view similar to FIGURE 1 from the right hand side of the assembly;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary sectional view showing a detail of the aligning feeder;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view of the boxing assembly;

FIGURE 5 is a plan view of portions of the assemblies shown in FIGURES 3 and 4;

FIGURE 6 is a plan view, partly in section, taken along the line 6--6 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary section taken on the line 7--7 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 8 is a fragmentary section taken on the line 8-8 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 9 is a detail in magnified form of the gate controlling assembly, with the gate in the closed position;

FIGURE 10 is a view similar to FIGURE 9, with the gate in the open position;

FIGURE 11 is a fragmentary section taken on the line 1111 of FIGURE 4',

FIGURE 12 is a fragmentary section taken on the line 12-12 of FIGURE 4;

FIGURES l3 and 14 are side elevational views of details of the trap door mechanism in two different positions;

F IGURE 15 is a magnified detail of the assembly shown in FIGURES 13 and 14;

FIGURE 16 is a section taken on the line 16-16 of FIGURE 15;

FIGURE 17 is a perspective view showing the fish sticks packaged in a single layer;

FIGURE 18 is a. perspective view showing the fish sticks packaged in a double layer;

FIGURE 19 is a diagrammatic view of the wiring system for my installation;

FIGURE 20 is a plan view of another embodiment of my invention;

FIGURE 21 is a section taken on the line 21--21 of FIGURE 20.

In accordance with my invention, it is intended in the preferred embodiment thereof to provide a packaging assembly which may usefully employ the preliminary feeding assembly in accordance with the invention of my application aforesaid as filed, wherein elongated food products, more specifically fish sticks in preconditioned form or in raw frozen form, are provided oriented in columnar arrangement, five columns being illustrated. Such initially oriented elongated objects may be first distributed over a timing conveyor of extended length, to assure a large average distribution in columnar arrangement of such fish sticks. While the orienting means may time the oriented fish sticks exemplified in my prior application sufficient for manual packaging, it is intended by the assembly to be described to assure accuracy of timing and filing of packages, and for this purpose the products which may be supplied from a timing conveyor are thereupon distributed upon a packaging machine feeding conveyor, including means initially to align the leading ends of the sticks in each of the columns in "dead heat position, the conveyor assuring an uninterrupted flow of columns of such sticks before the sticks are fed to a station at which rows of such sticks are deposited within a container.

Further phases of the assembly described include novel mechanism for timing in synchronism the positioning of a container to the positioning of a row of fish sticks, and the movement of the container with the movement of rows of fish sticks, whereby the rows may be deposited in the containers in one or more layers, superimposed upon each other or in end-to-end contact, as market requirements may dictate as desirable.

Describing my invention generally, I refer to the drawings, and particularly to FIGURES 3 and 4.

Elongated objects A, A, exemplified as fish sticks, axially aligned to lie in a plurality of columns. are fed to a sensing and edgewise aligning station S by the timer belt T, and thence to a packer and container synchronized station P.

The objects A are advanced by another belt, which other belt is provided with a detecting device adapted to insure filling of all of the columns. The object are then deposited on a relatively short accelerating belt, and are thrust by said belt against a releasable, endwise aligning gate, or a temporary stop, thereby dead heat aligning the objects into a row.

With the objects thus aligned, the stop is displaced, thereby permitting the accelerated belt to project the row of objects onto still another belt. The stop is arranged to return to its former position in a time sequence calculated to prevent the projecting of more than one row during a single cyclic opening and closing of the stop means or gate.

The projected rows of objects are advanced by the belt to an elongated skid or dead plate, where they are simultaneously engaged by pusher plates extending from an endless chain. The plates are arranged to operate in synchronism with the stop, to bar possible damage to the objects,

The rows are advanced along the skid by the plates in timed relationship to the feeding of boxes which are advanced by a box conveyor lying beneath the skid. The skid is provided with a covered passage or trap, the cover for said passage being removable by the movement thereover of predetermined pushers.

When the cover is removed, a single row of objects is dropped into an opened box positioned beneath the passage by the box conveyor. The trap cover returns to the trap sealing position after a discharge, thereby preventing the row of objects advanced by the following pusher from falling through the trap.

A partially filled box is retimed by a second box conveyor, to be positioned to receive a second row of objects as they fall through a second drop or passage located at an advanced position along the skid. By varying the timing, it is possible to arrange the rows in a box to lie in end-to-end or stacked relationship. Any number of rows may be positioned in a given box by providing additional traps or passages.

Describing in detail the dead heat orienting operation of my invention, elongated objects, manually or otherwise arranged in parallel columns by an extended timing conveyor, are deposited in endwise, haphazard relation on a first belt 10. Sagging of the upper flight portion of the belt is prevented by the supporting action of forming a guide plate 11 arranged to underlie the object advancing surfaces of the belt 10.

The objects are maintained in parallelism by the partition or guide plates 12 (see FIGURE 8), which extend downwardly from the overhanging guide plate cross bar supports 13, to lie adjacent without contacting the belt 10. The plates 12 are arranged to be variably spaced on the supports 13 by the locking bolts 14 slidably mounted in slots, thereby adapting the assembly for use with objects of a variety of thicknesses.

Along the length of the belt 10 is provide a columnar detector assembly 15 (see FIGURES 3 and 7), adapted to scan or sense the plural columns and note any unfilled column or columns. The method of detection and effects of noting a deficiency will be described later.

The objects A are deposited by the belt 10 onto an independently actuated, accelerating feed belt 16 (see FIG- URE 3), proceeding in the same direction as belt 10, but at a greater rate of speed.

A stop or gate 17 is swingably positioned to form, in the closed or down position (see FIGURES 3, 9 and 10), an end abutment against which the objects are momentarily stopped to form a dead heat aligned row adjacent the stop means or gate 17, traversing the full row of objects between the plates 12. It should be noted that the entering portion 18 of the accelerating belt 16 is preferably spaced from the gate 17 a distance of less than the length of one object A, thereby to permit only one row of the objects at a time to lie on said accelerating belt 16 in the closed or blocking position of said stop 17.

The stop or gate 17 is arranged to be cyclically moved open and shut under power supplied from and in synchronism with the packing assembly, and the stop actuating means will therefore be described in connection with the packer. The stop 17 is likewise provided with a power controlling switch 19 (see FIGURES 9 and 10), which switch is arranged to be closed when the stop is in any position other than the down or blocking position, and open only when the stop is in said down or blocking position.

Details of the effects on the pushing assembly of the various positions of the switch 19 will be discussed in the description of the packing portion, it being sufiicient to note in connection with the aligning and feeding portions of my invention that the switch 19 functions to prevent a stoppage of that portion with the stop 17 in other than the down position.

The deficiency detector 15 comprisies, in one embodiment (see FIGURES 3 and 7 and the wiring diagram), a plurality of levers or sensing fingers 20 corresponding in number to the number of channels outlined by the plates 12. The fingers 20 normally extend downwardly to lie adjacent the upper flight of the belt 10 at a point 21 along its length. In the aforementioned embodiment, each finger 20 is arranged to control a power circuit by the operation of a microswitch M (not shown) in the assembly 15. Each said finger 20 operates to keep its corresponding microswitch M in the open position when there is no object A beneath said finger at the point 21. When an object A is advanced to fill the gap at the point 21, the finger 20 rides upwardly over the object A, thus closing the individual microswitch controlled by that finger 20.

The microswitches included in this embodiment of the detector 15 are series-connected and thus the detector 15 is actuated by the absence at the point 21 of an object A in any of the channels.

The detector 15 and the stop switch 19 are connected in parallel, and together control the power supply to the stop 17, thereby enabling the stop actuating mechanism to continue cyclic operation when either the detector 15 is closed (by reason of a full complement of objects A at the point 21) or the stop switch 19 is closed (by reason of the stop 17 occupying a position other than closed). It should be noted that the belts l0 and 16 are controlled independently of the detector 15 and stop switch 19, the said belts continuing despite the open or closed postion of the said detector and/or switch.

In operation, the columns of axially aligned, endwise. haphazard objects A are fed from a supply conveyor T to the belt 10, the guide plates 12 having been adjusted, as previously described, to provide the desired columnar clearance. The objects A advance from the belt 10 to the belt 16 and are thrust by the last-named belt against the downwardly positioned stop 17, thereby momentarily aligning the stop adiacent objects A in dead heat, as well as in columnar relation. Upon cyclically raising the stop 17, the thus-formed row of objects is projected by the accelerated belt 16 onto a conveyor 22, forming the first stage of the packing assembly.

It is important to note that only the stop-adjacent objects A are permitted to contact the accelerated belt 16, the differential speeds of the belts and 16 providing a time lag to allow the stop to come to the down position in time to block passage to the packing assembly of more than one row of objects during any single cyclic opening and closing of the stop 17.

The detector and the stop switch 19 are provided to assure the supplying of full rows only to the packing assembly. If at the point 21, a columnar deficiency is detected by the fingers 20, the detector 15 comes to the open switch position. As previously noted, the stop 17 being under control of a separate actuating means will continue its cyclic operation despite the open position of detector 15, current being supplied to the stop actuating means through the parallel connected stop 19. When the stop 17 reaches the down position (see FIGURE 9). however, the stop switch 19 automatically opens, and the operation of the stop 17 will be suspended, the stop re maining in the down or blocking position. If, in the time interval between the detection of a deficiency at the point 21 by any of the sensing fingers and the closing of the stop 17, an object or objects are advanced by the belt 10 to close the detector assembly 15, stop 17 will continue to operate without interruption, current being supplied to the stop actuating means through the closed detector. It is only when the detector 15 and the stop switch 19 are coincidentally open that the stop 17 is deactivated. Since the stop 17 can be deactivated only in the closed position, there is no chance for accidental feeding of less than a full row of objects, despite the fact that the belts 10 and 16 continue to operate when the stop is deactivated.

The stop 17, thus deactivated in the closed position, forms an end barrier, causing a jamming or backing-up of objects in their respective channels. As the belt 19 continues to feed additional objects A, there will eventually occur a back-filling until the columnar deficiency at point 21 has been corrected, thereby closing the detector and automatically causing the stop 17 to resume its cyclic operation.

The packer An aligned row of objects A is projected from the belt 16 to the conveyor 22 on its upper flight upon each cyclic opening and closing of the stop 17. An endless chain 23, having a series of extending pusher plates 24, is powerized to advance each pusher plate 24 in synchronized relation to the operation of the gate 17, to descend behind the row of objects A, thereby to prevent possible cutting, fracturing or abrading of the objects A. The rows of objects A thus engaged from behind by pusher plates 24 are advanced by said plates from the conveyor 22 onto and along a skid or dead plate 25.

A trap or passage 26, comprising an opening of approximately rectangular outline, is formed through an advanced portion of the skid plate 25 (see FIGURES 13 and 14). A trap cover or door 27 is arranged to be horizontally, slidably mounted to cover the trap 26. A pair of rods 28 (see FIGURES l3, 14, 15, 16) are horizontally suspended from the frame 29 of the packer by the vertical bars 30. A carriage 31, having a pair of vertically descending straps 32, is slidably mounted on the rods 28, the said carriage being normally biased to the closed position shown in FIGURE 13 by a pair of rodencircling springs 33. The cover 27 is horizontally supported between the straps 32, it being noted that the covor 27 is movable with the carriage 31 and is, therefore, normally biased by the springs 33 to cover the passage 26.

Downwardly depending from the carriage 31 and centrally positioned thereon is a pawl 34, mounted on a piv ot 34a, having an extending trigger branch 35 and a follower branch 36, the said follower branch being additionally provided with a friction reducing roller 37 (see FIGURE 15 Beneath the frame 29 of the packer is affixed an extended horizontal guide track 38, with a terminal rollotlf or cam face 39.

In the illustrated embodiment, alternate pusher plates 24a are formed with a recess 40 centrally of the chain adjacent an inner surface thereof (see FIGURE ll). The dimensions of the recess 40 are calculated to permit the recessed pushers 24 to span without contacting the trigger branch 35 of the pawl 34. When a non-recessed pusher 24 passes the trap 26 of the skid 25, the trigger 35 is engaged by the chain adjacent the face of the said pusher, causing the carriage 31 and consequently the cover 27 to be withdrawn against the biasing action of the springs 33 in the direction of movement of the pushers 34. The trigger 35 is maintained in approximately vertical position by the contact of the roller 37 of the follower branch 36 against the track 38. As the carriage 31 and cover 27 reach the fully retracted position (see FIGURE 14), the roller 37 and follower branch 36 are guided over the contour of the cam face 39, thereby permitting the pawl 34 to swing about the pivot 34a and removing the trigger 35 from contact with the pusher 24. With the trigger thus disengaged, the carriage 31 is returned by the springs 33 to the closed position of the cover 27 (see FIGURE 13), at the same time passing a pusher 24a by the clearance slot 40.

It will be readily recognized that by the above arrangement, the row of objects advanced by each recessed pusher 24a will be permitted to fall as it reaches the trap 26, (the cover having been drawn by the preceding non-recessed pusher 24), while the row carried by each nomrecessed pusher 24 will pass over the cover 27, bypassing the trap 26. and continue down the skid or dead plate 25.

A second end drop 41, spaced apart from the trap 26. is formed through the skid 25, the drop 41 being adapted to receive the alternate rows not previously deposited (i.e. the rows advanced by the non-recessed pushers 24).

Boxes B are advanced in filling position beneath the first trap 26 by a box conveyor 42, having box feed shoulders or lugs 43. The conveyor 42 is timed to be synchronized with the movement of the pushers 24. thereby to enable accurate deposition of the rows of objects A at a predetermined position within the boxes B.

The boxes B, partially filled at the trap 26 (see FIGURE 4), are deposited by the conveyor 42 on a centrally positioned dwell or idler belt 44, which belt is adapted to assume a generally downwardly receding flight 44a by the belt conforming supporting dead plate 45, thus giving the box a dwell as the belt recedes and leaves the boxes on skid bars herebelow described.

The boxes are removed from the belt 44 by a box retiming conveyor 46 comprising a pair of spaced endless chains 47 (see FIGURES 4 and 12), to each side of the idler belt 44, carrying a plurality of spaced-apart. paired box grippers 48. The grippers 48 advance the boxes B from the idler belt 44 to and along the skid bars 49, arranging the partially filled boxes B beneath the point 50, to receive the rows of objects A not deposited through the first trap 26.

By varying the feeding timing of the conveyor 46, as will be described, it is possible to vary the stacked arrangement of the box, as is illustrated by FIGURES l7 and 18 showing, respectively, end-to-end (B), and superimposed (B') stacking arrangements.

It is important to note the timed inter-relation and operational control of the feeding and packing portions of my invention.

The stop or gate 17 (see FIGURES 9 and 10) is pivotally mounted at 51 and is operatively connected to a crank arm 52 which is, in turn, pivotally connected to an extended arm 54 by the knuckle 53. A downwardly depending link 55 is pivotally connected at one end 56 to the frame 29 of the packer and at the other end 57 to the arm 54. The end 57 of the link 55 is provided with a roller 58, for purposes which will appear hereafter. A spring 59 is tensioned between the link 55 and the frame 29, thereby causing the gate 17 to assume the closed or down position (see FIGURE 9).

A cam wheel 60, having a plurality of camming teeth 61 spaced about its periphery, is operatively connected to the source of power supplying the packing assembly, and is thus activated at all times when the packing assembly is in operation (i.e. when either the switch 19 or the detector 15, or both, are in the closed position). As the wheel 60 rotates, each of the teeth 61 successively contacts the follower roller 48 of the link 55, thereby causing the arms 52 and 54 to pivot the gate 17 to the open or feeding position (see FIGURE As the roller 58 passes the dead center position of the teeth 61, the link 55 will be raised and the arms 52 and 54 will permit the gate 17 to snap back to the down or closed position under the biasing influence of the spring 59.

Adjacent the leading point of the packer station P, a box B feeding throat T is provided in the form of a slide and cover hold H, manually or automatically to introduce boxes in timed relation to the movement of the belt 23 and synchronized with the pushers 24 to provide one box B for each pusher blade 24.

Motorization of the assembly is preferably effected by providing the frame F with a platform having portability, so that the packaging assembly may be moved to a point adjacent a processing station to which sticks B are fed to the timer belt T first described.

In one form of assembly, a feeder motor FM is mounted adjacent the station S and a pusher and a speed-up belt motor PM and box and conveyor motor BM are mounted on the platform adjacent the packer frame F. The motor FM, through the chain drive or belt 62 and intermediate transmission and speed reducer, as required, drives the pulley 63 for the shaft 64 of the conveyor 10.

The motor PM, through the belt 65, drives the shaft 66 and then, through the belt 67 and coordinate pulley, drives the speed-up convey-or 16. The shaft 69 of the box conveyor 42 is provided with a sprocket 70 and a pulley 43a. A belt 68 links the pulley 43a to a pulley 68a, thereby rotating the shaft 22a and thus operating the conveyor 22. The sprocket 70 of the shaft 69 is connected with a sprocket 60a mounted on the shaft 60b, thereby coordinating rotation of the sprocket 60a with the wheel 60 carrying gate operating cam teeth 61.

Motor BM, through suitable transmission coupling 71 and speed reducer, which may include brake and clutch control expedients, operates the chain belt 72, rotating the shaft 73 to which conveyor belt 23 is coupled, as well as driving the shaft 75 through the medium of the selectively operated slip-clutch controlled sprocket 75 to time the box conveyor 46 in accordance with the stacking or endwise arrangement of the sticks which is desired.

Positive drive for the shaft 74 is derived through the chain 72. Transmission is given to the shaft 80 through the carrier belt 47. The shaft 80 includes a sprocket 81 connected by the chain 81a to the sprocket 82 on the shaft 83. The shaft 80 has a pulley 84 driving the pulley 86 on the shaft 87 through the belt 85. Shaft 87 drives the dwell or idler belt 44 to locate a partially filled box on the skid bars 49 previously described.

Switches SFM, SPM, SBM manually may be used for controlling the power circuits for the motors FM, PM. BM, respectively, but otherwise during operation the motors are under the control of the sensing switch assembly and the gate switch 19.

it will be observed from the wiring diagram (FIGURE 19) that absence of a fish stick adjacent the sensing detector station 15 will control the packer and the box conveyor motor BM but will not affect the power of the circuits controlling the feeder motors PM or PM so that it will continue its operation to satisfy the full complement or columnar supply in rows, to assure a full package.

It will also be understood that while 1 have shown and described a sensing detector assembly 15 which operates upon depression of any finger 20, it will be observed that each finger 20 may have a light beam interrupting member or obscuring means comprising a flag 20a to deactivate a photo-electric relay means R instead of depending on the mechanical contact of the fingers 20.

A plurality of light flags 20a (see FIGURES 20 and 21), each arranged to be maintained in non-light beam interrupting position when tilted in the direction of the arrow about pivot 2012 by the presence of an object or stick A along the conveyor thereby may be used to minimize the slightest abrasion caused by touching contact of the spring fingers 20.

It will thus be shown that I have described a feeder and packaging machine with automatic control, eliminating human errors in packaging and assuring a continuous operation of the feed of the fish sticks and the boxes, with minimum abrasion.

Thus, the most fragile and delicate components of food may be packaged, with assurance of maintaining a highly desirable appearance and hygienic conditions.

It will be further understood that the choice of materials entering into the construction, such as the use of highly polished stainless steel, need not here be described, as it will be understood that a selection of materials may be made to assure conditions of cleanliness, and continuous operation of the assembly.

Having thus described my invention and illustrated its use, what I claim is new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An assembly for orderly positioning in a box a plurality of similarly sized elongated objects, such as fish sticks, previously oriented in a plurality of columns to be in mutually parallel, leading edge haphazard relation, comprising a first conveyor means arranged to advance said parallel objects in the direction of their longitudinal axes, a second conveyor means arranged to proceed at a speed in excess of said first conveyor means and adapted to receive said objects from said first conveyor means, and to accelerate the movement of the objects to remove the same from the influence of said first means, transversely extended stop means variably positionable to release and stop position forming, in the closed position, an abutment extending across all said columns for dead heat aligning said objects of each of the columns in relation to each other thereagainst, and timing means arranged cyclically to move said stop means to the open position, thereby to permit a single row across all of said columns of said endwisely aligned objects to be fed by said second conveyor to a packing assembly arranged to receive and box said aligned objects.

2. An assembly in accordance with claim 1 and including primary sensing means arranged to detect columnar deficiencies at a predetermined point along the length of said first conveyor means, and actuating means for said stop means operatively controlled by said primary sensing means, said primary sensing means and said actuating means cooperating to maintain said stop means in the closed position in the event of a columnar deficiency.

3. An assembly in accordance with claim 1 and including primary sensing means arranged to detect columnar deficiencies at a predetermined point along the length of said first conveyor, and has stop means-actuating means operatively controlling the position of said stop means to move the same from closing position to a lowered passing position, and secondary sensing means arranged to detect the position of said stop means, said primary and secondary sensing means cooperating to interrupt operation of said conveyors upon detection of a columnar deficiency only when said stop means is cyclically depressed to the closed position.

4. An assembly in accordance with claim 3 wherein a packing assembly is positioned operatively to receive said objects from said conveyor and said primary and secondary sensing means cooperate to suspend operation of said packing assembly when said stop means is maintained in the closed position by reason of detection of a columnar deficiency by said primary sensing means.

5. An assembly in accordance with claim 3 wherein the object contacting surface of said second conveyor is of a length less than the length of said objects, to overlap the contacting surface of said second conveyor in the direction of feed of said second conveyor.

6. An assembly in accordance with claim 3 wherein the said stop means in the closed position is spaced from the entering portion of said second conveyor a distance less than the length of one of said objects.

7. An assembly in accordance with claim 3 wherein said first and second conveyors have operating means independently arranged to continue in operation, notwithstanding the closed position of said stop means caused by detection of a columnar deficiency.

8. An assembly in accordance with claim 7 wherein said lowered stop means has means connected therewith to provide upon detection of a columnar deficiency, provides an end wall, thereby causing a columnar jam of said objects, the rear of each said object forming an abutment for the leading edge of the following objects, thereby causing a lost motion of said objects relative to said conveyors, and thus efiecting a filling of said columnar deficiency as other objects are supplied by said first conveyor.

9. An assembly in accordance with claim 8 wherein said primary and secondary sensing means are coupled to control means arranged to permit resumption of the cyclic operation of said stop means upon the filling of said columnar deficiency.

10. An assembly in accordance with claim 3 wherein said stop means comprises a vertically swingable gate.

11. A packing assembly for arranging in a box a plurality of rows of elongated objects, such as fish sticks, arranged on an extended skid, comprising endless conveyor means having a plurality of outwardly extending pusher plates, at least two box loading drop passages formed through said skid, at least one drop passage cover means on each but one of said apertures biased normally to cover said other apertures, cover retractor means in repeated sequence on certain of said pusher plates, and arranged to withdraw said cover means to permit a row of objects to be loaded into an open box arranged to lie beneath said withdrawn cover, and box conveyor means timed to advance a partially filled box to filling position beneath at least one other said passage.

12. An assembly in accordance with claim 11 wherein said cover means includes an extending trigger, and said cover retractor means comprises a conveyor adjacent portions of said pushers.

13. An assembly in accordance with claim 12 wherein said plates not equipped with cover retractor means are provided with trigger clearance means.

14. An assembly in accordance with claim 11 wherein said cover retractor means are dimensionally differentiated whereby certain of said detractor means are adapted to withdraw certain of said cover means and t by-pass, without withdrawing, other of said cover means.

15. An assembly in accordance with claim 11 wherein said cover means includes a pivotally mounted trigger having a retractor actuated branch and a follower branch adapted to ride on a stationary cam means, said follower branch and cam means cooperating to maintain said retractor actuated branch in the retractor engaging position of said trigger until said cover means reaches the withdrawn position thereof.

16. An assembly in accordance with claim 15 wherein said cover means is arranged to be automatically returned to the closed position thereof under said biasing pressure when said cover means reaches the withdrawn position thereof.

17. An assembly in accordance with claim 15 wherein said follower branch and cam means cooperate to pivot said retractor actuated branch to retractor disengaging position when said cover means reaches the fully open position thereof, thereby permitting said last named means to return to the closed position under said biasing infiuence.

18. In an assembly for orderly positioning in a box a plurality of rows of similarly sized elongated objects. such as fish sticks, previously oriented in a plurality of columns to lie in mutually parallel, leading edge haphazard relation, including end-to-end aligning means including a stop cyclically movable to form, in the closed position, an end abutment for said objects, feeding means along the length of said aligning means, and packing means arranged to receive objects from said aligning means, sensing means including means for detecting columnar deficiency of said objects and independent stop position detecting means, and control means including electrical switching means for each of said detecting means, said control means being arranged to suspend operation of said packing means when each said switching means is in the open position.

19. A device in accordance with claim 18 wherein said electrical switching means are connected in parallel.

20. A device in accordance with claim 18 wherein said top position detecting means is connected to means arranged to open one said switching means each time said stop means is cyclically moved to the closed position.

21. A device in accordance with claim 18 wherein said columnar deficiency detector means comprises a plurality of series-connected microswitch means corresponding in number to the number of objects in a row, each said microswitch means being maintained in closed position by the presence of an object at a predetermined point along the length of said aligning means.

22. A device in accordance with claim 18 wherein said columnar deficiency detector means comprises a lightbeam activated photo-electric relay means and a plurality of light-beam interrupting means, each arranged to be maintained in non-light-beam interrupting position by the presence of said objects at a predetermined point along the length of said first conveyor.

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